


You Look a Lot like Forever

by lakehymn



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kiss, Goodbyes, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-25 01:33:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2603654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakehymn/pseuds/lakehymn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gou lets out a sharp gasp and then immediately claps her hands over her mouth as if to stifle it. Sousuke hates to admit that he’d sort of forgotten she was there, though Rin doesn’t seem to notice her at all.</p><p>“Ha ha.” His voice is flat, and he’s rolling his eyes. “I thought you were going to take this promise seriously.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Look a Lot like Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Kelcey](http://archiveofourown.org/users/infinituity) for looking over this for me, as always!

Sousuke glances reluctantly up at the clock on the far wall, and he can’t help sighing before turning his attention back to Rin and Gou. It’s almost 11:30, and the clock’s second hand seems to be ticking far more quickly than normal as it counts down the moments until Sousuke has to board his flight. Iwatobi’s small airport is mostly empty right now, which isn’t surprising given how late it is, and everything feels quiet and still. If Sousuke isn’t careful, he could easily forget that he’s supposed to be leaving soon.

Rin and Gou are theoretically saying their goodbyes, but neither of them has spoken in quite a while. Sousuke is content with the silence, but still, if this was all they were going to be doing, then there was really no point in either of them staying up so late to accompany him to the airport in the first place. He’d say as much, but it wouldn’t make any difference now. Besides, he’d already tried to talk them out of it before they left, but was outvoted two to one—stubbornness must run in the Matsuoka genes.

They’re now gathered a little ways outside the security checkpoint, close to the chairs in the landside area, but Sousuke refuses to sit or even to set his luggage down. He’s using his left hand to pull his heavier suitcase, which means he’s carrying his duffel bag on his right shoulder and pretending not to notice the way Rin keeps eyeing it. Getting comfortable when he’s supposed to be leaving wouldn’t do either of them any good.

Finally, Rin crosses his arms, looks away and says, “I still can’t believe you have to leave so soon, Sousuke.”

Sousuke notes that, despite the offhandedness of Rin’s tone, his mouth is turned down in a childish pout.

“My dad set up an internship for me in Tokyo. I have to go,” Sousuke explains. He wishes having a legitimate reason for leaving would make it easier, but he’s been on both sides of that equation and knows it won’t. “Besides,” he adds, “aren’t you going to Australia soon anyway?”

“Not for another two months!” Rin protests, no longer bothering to hide the petulance in his voice.

At that, Gou punches Rin lightly in the arm and says, “You can use that time to hang out with me.”

Sousuke should have known Gou would be the one to get Rin to crack a smile.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Rin teases.

Sousuke chuckles as he steps forward and throws his arms around Gou’s waist, leaning down to tell her, “I’m going to miss you guys.”

“Right back at you, Sousuke-kun,” Gou replies, hugging him tightly.

Then Sousuke pulls away to look her in the eye, taking her hands in his as he does, and says, “Make sure you take care of Rin for me—at least for the next couple months.”

“Only if you promise to make sure he stays in contact with me after he leaves.”

“You’re assuming he’ll stay in contact with _me_ ,” Sousuke responds.

“I’m right here, you know!” Rin points out. “You could just ask me.”

Sousuke and Gou ignore him.

“We’ll both just have to do our best,” Gou says.

“Yeah,” Sousuke agrees, nodding. Then he lets go of Gou’s hands and looks over at Rin. “I guess that’s it, then.”

“I guess so,” Rin responds, all traces of his earlier smile gone.

Sousuke raises his fist for Rin to bump. Rin stares at him, clearly unimpressed.

“What’s wrong?”

“My sister gets a hug, but I only get a fist bump?” Rin asks, with disbelief.

“I thought you liked fist bumps,” Sousuke responds, lowering his hand.

“That was before I knew there were other options,” Rin complains.

Sousuke makes a big show out of rolling his eyes, but doesn’t bother hiding the wide grin spreading across his face.

“Come here, you big sap,” he says, and pulls Rin into a hug.

Neither of them moves for a few long moments—moments that Sousuke would let stretch into eternity if he could—but eventually they both pull away.

“I should really get going now,” Sousuke says awkwardly, as he adjusts the strap of his bag.

Rin nods. “Right,” he responds, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Hang on!” Gou suddenly exclaims, drawing Rin’s and Sousuke’s eyes towards her. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She points an accusatory finger at Sousuke. “You’re not allowed to leave until I get back.”

“But—” Sousuke begins, before cutting himself off with a slight chuckle and a shake of the head. “Never mind. Go ahead.”

As Gou hurries off in the direction of the bathrooms, Sousuke meets Rin’s eyes, and they both start to laugh.

“I really am going to miss you guys,” Sousuke says.

“I know,” Rin replies.

A comfortable silence settles over them after that, but Sousuke watches as Rin’s gaze drops to the floor. Then Rin takes a deep breath and looks back up at Sousuke, and Sousuke braces himself.

“So you’re really going to help with your dad’s business? You’re still planning to give up on swimming?”

Sousuke shrugs; he’s been resigned to it since the day he swam the relay with Rin at regionals. “I’ve had surgery, and I’ve been in physical therapy for months. I don’t think there’s anything else I can do at this point. Maybe I’ll be able to swim again someday, but… not right now.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry.”

Rin looks at him sharply. “Don’t apologize for that. It’s not your fault.”

“I guess not,” Sousuke says reluctantly.

“There shouldn’t be any guessing about it,” Rin says. “Besides, I know you—you’ll be great at anything you end up doing.”

“Thanks,” Sousuke mutters, before adding, at normal volume, “Just so you know, you’re going to have to win enough gold medals for the both of us.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Rin counters, folding his hands behind his head and grinning.

Just then, his eyes flicker to something behind Sousuke, and Sousuke glances over his shoulder to see Gou headed back towards them. He gives her a half-hearted wave before turning back to Rin.

“You know, you never told me what you wanted for that promise I owe you,” Rin says thoughtfully.

“You mean letting me swim the relay didn’t count?” Sousuke asks.

“Of course not,” Rin tells him. “I didn’t let you do that because of the promise.”

“Oh,” Sousuke responds.

He needs a moment to get all his thoughts in order, and he’s still trying to figure out what he wants to say when Gou comes up next to him and asks, “Are you ready to go?” He’s not sure if she’s talking to him or to Rin.

“I guess you’ll just have to think on it for the next five years,” Rin says.

He doesn’t move—doesn’t so much as glance away from Sousuke’s face—but Sousuke reacts like Rin had already started turning to leave.

“Wait!” He reaches out and grabs Rin by the crook of his arm, then realizes what he’s just done and forces himself to take a deep, calming breath. “I mean, I’d rather not wait five years,” he says, with affected nonchalance.

It’s not very convincing, if Rin’s single raised eyebrow is anything to go by. Sousuke quickly drops his hand.

“You’re about to leave,” Rin says, as though Sousuke needs reminding. “You would have to think of something right now.”

Sousuke hesitates, although not being able to think of something isn’t his problem.

“I already know what I want.”

“I’m not buying you a soda,” Rin replies automatically.

Sousuke is startled enough by that declaration that he laughs in spite of his nerves, and he glances over at the vending machine in the corner before focusing his attention back on Rin.

“That’s not it,” he says. He looks at Rin’s expectant face. “I want you to kiss me.”

Gou lets out a sharp gasp and then immediately claps her hands over her mouth as if to stifle it. Sousuke hates to admit that he’d sort of forgotten she was there, though Rin doesn’t seem to notice her at all.

“Ha ha.” His voice is flat, and he’s rolling his eyes. “I thought you were going to take this promise seriously.”

“I’m not joking,” Sousuke responds.

Rin stares at Sousuke for a long moment. He looks like he doesn’t believe him.

“Okay,” he says slowly. “Why?”

“Why do you think?” Sousuke asks patiently. “Why does anyone kiss anybody else?” If anything, Rin looks even more confused. Sousuke decides to break the news to him gently. “Rin, I’ve had gross, mushy feelings for you since we were kids.”

“What?”

Now Rin looks like he believes him, his eyes wide and surprised.

“Yeah,” Sousuke says, rubbing the nape of his neck.

There’s a pause, then Rin responds, voice low, “I didn’t know.” His eyebrows are knit together in thought, like maybe he’s trying to remember every interaction he and Sousuke have ever had.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sousuke assures him. “I didn’t know either, for a long time.”

Rin nods like that explains it.

“If you really don’t want to, you can say,” Sousuke continues, “but otherwise, please let me kiss you.”

When Sousuke looks at Rin, he suddenly feels like he’s thirteen years old again.

He remembers how, before a big race, he would step onto the starting block with his stomach in knots, and he would look out at the calm surface of the pool with his heart racing. No matter how confident he’d been in his abilities, his body hummed with a combination of anxiety, anticipation, and excitement that could only come from the knowledge that anything could happen out there in the water, once the signal rang out.

When Sousuke looks at Rin, he gets those same feelings. His stomach is in knots, and his heart is racing. He’s always felt like this when looking at Rin, though, and maybe that’s why he’d once thought of Rin as his rival.

Finally, Rin says, “Of course, Sousuke,” and Sousuke knows the relief he feels must be written all over his face.

He lets his duffel bag slip from his shoulder onto the floor—Rin should be pleased about that—before he moves forward and leans down, closing the space between their lips. He starts moving his hands up with the intention of cupping Rin’s cheeks, but thinks better of it almost immediately and ends up leaving his arms awkwardly hovering in midair. Only when Sousuke feels Rin’s hands on his waist does he slowly lower his own hands onto Rin’s shoulders.

Sousuke tries to catalogue every part of this moment, from Rin’s soft, slightly parted lips to the pressure of Rin’s tight grip on his waist, before he pulls away.

“Thank you,” he says.

“You’re welcome,” Rin responds, “but I can’t believe you had the nerve to call _me_ a sap.”

Sousuke laughs. “You’re right, I did say that,” he acknowledges. “Sorry.”

“Whatever,” Rin scoffs, before hesitating briefly. Then: “That was—” He pauses. “—nice.” Another pause. “ _Really_ nice.”

Sousuke doesn’t know if Rin had ever even thought about kissing him before now, but he does know that Rin makes decisions impulsively and always goes after what he wants without the slightest bit of hesitation, so Sousuke isn’t entirely surprised when Rin adds, “I’d like to do it again.”

Sousuke smiles. “I would, too.” He looks up at the clock and winces. “But not right now.”

Rin turns, following Sousuke’s gaze. “Any chance I could convince you to miss your flight?”

“Stop acting like we’re never going to see each other again,” Sousuke tells him firmly, “because we are.”

“I know,” Rin admits, sighing. “I still hate this, though.”

“I’ll text you as soon as my plane lands,” Sousuke promises.

“You better,” Rin replies. There’s a short pause, and Sousuke is still trying to figure out if that’s his cue to leave when Rin says, his words all coming out in a rush, “I’m sorry for never writing you back before. I’m going to stay in contact this time, with you _and_ Gou.”

Sousuke realizes at the same time Rin probably does that Gou had disappeared at some point, presumably to give them some privacy; he’ll have to make sure he finds her again before he leaves.

“I’m sure she’ll be happy about that,” Sousuke says.

“What about you?” Rin asks.

“Oh, me?” Sousuke responds, as straight-faced as he can manage. “I couldn’t care less.”

“Shut up. You’re supposed to be feeding my ego,” Rin informs him.

“I thought I had already done that enough for one day.”

“Fine, fine,” Rin concedes. “You have gross, mushy feelings for me, but you don’t care about me at all.”

“Exactly,” Sousuke says, and they both laugh.

Though Rin’s proximity is intoxicating, Sousuke manages to force himself to step back, saying, “All right, I _really_ have to go now.”

He then spots Gou jogging towards them, as though she’d been summoned by his words, and when she approaches, Sousuke sees she’s holding a magazine with a half-naked man on the cover. He decides not to ask.

All three of them say goodbye as Sousuke grabs his duffel bag and his suitcase. Before he leaves, he says, “Rin,” and holds up his fist. Rin looks at him incredulously for a second, but then he chuckles and bumps it with his own fist. For a second, it feels just like old times, and Sousuke turns away before he decides to miss his flight after all.

“Hey, Sousuke,” Rin calls to Sousuke’s retreating back. Sousuke turns around. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

Sousuke smiles. “You too.”

He gets through security without any trouble and by some miracle actually manages to make it to his gate right as boarding begins. After getting settled into his window seat on the plane, Sousuke prepares to look out at Iwatobi for the last time—or at least, the last time for a while. When the plane takes off, he watches as the city lights grow smaller and smaller, until eventually it looks as if the entire town is twinkling below him.

Sousuke closes his eyes at some point and wakes up to a flight attendant telling him he needs to put his tray table up. When he looks out the window again, he finds that the lights of Tokyo don’t look that much different than the lights of Iwatobi.

As soon as the plane lands, Sousuke pulls his phone out of his pocket. He turns it on, and it flashes to alert him of four new text messages. They’re all from Rin, and the timestamp of the first reads 12:35—just ten minutes after Sousuke’s plane had taken off.

 ** _12:35 a.m.:_** _miss you already_

 ** _12:35 a.m.:_** _gou wants me to tell you she does too_

 ** _12:36 a.m.:_** _but not as much_

 ** _12:37 a.m.:_** _(my addition, not hers)_

A smile tugs at the corners of Sousuke’s lips as he reads the texts and tries to decide how to respond. Eventually, he types out, _if this is a contest then i think i win_ , and hits send.

There’s no response, but Sousuke is actually glad of that, since it probably means Rin and Gou have finally gone to sleep. He’ll call them tomorrow night—or later today, technically—to tell them about Tokyo and his new internship, but for now, he gets ready to grab his bags and exit the plane, feeling more excited about the future than he has in years.


End file.
